BRODHEADSVILLE, Pa. — Many families are still in disbelief after jurors spared the Parkland, Florida, school shooter from the death penalty.
One of them is the wife of Chris Hixon, a Poconos native who was killed in the 2018 massacre.
A shocked and devastated Debbi Hixon sat in the Broward County Courthouse in Florida as the sentencing verdict was read for the shooter who killed her husband — life in prison without the possibility of parole; the gunman was spared the death penalty.
"That, to me, says that for a juror, at least one, his life had more value than the ones that he stole from us," Debbi Hixon said.
Chris Hixon was one of the 17 people killed during the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018.
A graduate of Pleasant Valley High School near Brodheadsville, Chris Hixon was the athletic director and a security monitor for the Florida high school. He previously served as a military police officer.
That day, Debbi Hixon says, he was trying to stop the shooting.
"He ran into the building like a bull in a China shop. So he clearly understood that something was not right whether he heard the shots or not."
Hixon says her husband was an extraordinary man living an ordinary life.
"I took care of everything. I took care of the kids; I took care of the bills and all of that. But he took care of me; that was how it worked, right? He took care of making sure I was OK so that I could take care of everyone else. So I miss that part very much."
Over the years, his high school here in the Poconos has kept Chris' legacy alive. The school is giving out scholarships in his name and dedicated their weight room in honor of him.
Hixon says moving forward, she wants people to remember the lives lost.
"To stop giving this person, this monster, any energy and to put all of the energy in making sure the legacy of the 17 that were stolen from us continues and that we honor them."
The gunman's formal sentencing is November 1. After that day, Hixon wants to forget about him. She says she still doesn't know if she will speak yet at the sentencing but says other family members plan to.
Click here to donate to the Chris Hixon scholarship fund, sign up for a 5K run in Florida, or participate in a virtual 5K.
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